Most reliable Falcon - Page 4

shedcoupe · 23-04-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MexicanBatman

My grandfather brout an au ex taxi 680,000km on it and it drove better and ran nicer than my low km EF, the body was crap but it was a good driver then the idiot sold it for next to nothing without telling me

What's the record for mileage without servicing or without a rebuild ?
I recall a story about an FX / FJ taxi owner who didn't like the cost of the recommended weekly oil changes and never changed the oil, but replaced the motor when needed, and this was cheaper than oil changes.

davids_gxl · 23-04-2011, 04:44 PM

My au up to 460,xxx no rebuilds.just keeps on going.

damo76 · 23-04-2011, 11:19 PM

i would have to say ford got it right with the xc

Bonswally · 23-10-2017, 11:04 PM

My BA ute has done 410,000 km now. Lots of heavy towing

Untouched engine. No major repairs. No signs of weakness.

Replaced a radiator and fitted a bypass cooler 5 or 6 years ago, Just replaced the factory muffler last year.

It wouldn't turn over one morning, required me to spend 5 minutes cleaning the terminals on the starter. That was pretty rough.

stock1991 · 23-10-2017, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonswally

My BA ute has done 410,000 km now. Lots of heavy towing

Untouched engine. No major repairs. No signs of weakness.

Replaced a radiator and fitted a bypass cooler 5 or 6 years ago, Just replaced the factory muffler last year.

It wouldn't turn over one morning, required me to spend 5 minutes cleaning the terminals on the starter. That was pretty rough.

its a six,? the straight six is indestructible

ebv8 · 24-10-2017, 07:36 AM

my '99 AU1 XR8 ex cop car, bought it with 280,000km and sold it with 380,000km. I chucked a big cam in it, circuit raced it, lent it to the missus so she could get to night school, and it was faultless.....don't know why i sold it

every other car i had had for more than 5 years i have had either major repairs or lots of minor repairs.

**Burnout** · 24-10-2017, 08:27 AM

Mines on 346,oookm.
I replace worn bits and service every 10,oookm. Never plays up, never gives trouble.

Junkyard-Dog · 24-10-2017, 08:44 AM

The AUIII. No doubt about it.

They're so reliable I don't even care how ugly they are.

ken1939 · 24-10-2017, 10:22 AM

Ok not to be confused, but I thought the BA was the answer to the AU, well in regards to the AU shortcomings...

Stock XR · 24-10-2017, 10:23 AM

Had an AUII XR8 from new it had done 250,000kms when I sold it, briefly had a BF XR6 didn't like it. Back in a AUIII XR8. AU's are reliable & easy to look after.

LeadFoot81 · 24-10-2017, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken1939

Ok not to be confused, but I thought the BA was the answer to the AU, well in regards to the AU shortcomings...

The AUs only major shortcoming was it's challenging styling. Other than that, I've found the BA leaves you asking more questions than it answered.

ken1939 · 24-10-2017, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeadFoot81

The AUs only major shortcoming was it's challenging styling. Other than that, I've found the BA leaves you asking more questions than it answered.

Well there you go!

Bonswally · 24-10-2017, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stock1991

its a six,? the straight six is indestructible

Yeah, standard 6.

Mine gets no attention other than a rare service with the cheapest oil I can find.

A female friend once had a radiator hose blow on it and decided to drive it about 10 minutes home with no coolant in it. Incredibly, no issues.

Seasoned One · 24-10-2017, 02:51 PM

auii xr8, best car I ever owned, had it for just over 10 years, replaced wiper rubbers, 1 drive belt, tyres and front pads and a battery. never missed a beat EVER! hope the g6et is as good, 5 years now, so far so good apart from icc update

roddy1960 · 24-10-2017, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken1939

Ok not to be confused, but I thought the BA was the answer to the AU, well in regards to the AU shortcomings...

What shortcomings !!!!!!!!!...There aren't any..Overwhelming that the AU is rated so high . A real tell tale for me though is just how many more AU's you see every day compared to VT Commodores , and there was a lot more VT sold .
The AU has a real fan base . I ought to know , I've still got Ol'Faithful and it's the only car I can't bear the thought of getting rid of , already 14 years ownership . Cheers Rod.

24-10-2017, 05:00 PM

My 2004 BA had metal filings blown through the intake when it was 4 years old with 50'000KM on the clock. It's gone through 12-15 litres of fully synthetic oil per year/20'000km for the past 10 years but it's still alive today at 250'000km.

Sar4890 · 24-10-2017, 05:26 PM

My 04 BA XR6 the best Ford I've ever owned and I've owned a few.

Maka · 24-10-2017, 08:04 PM

The AU has shown years after release that its the last proper old school Falcon built to last, easy & cheap enough to repair for the home mechanic too. The icing on the cake is its world class driving dynamics, fuel economy & almost tank like robustness & reliability.

Falcons down through the years have always been damn reliable, the AU was the benificiary of know how only decades of experience can produce at that time, Ford carved the AU out of solid rock & gave it some real soul.

cheers, Maka

FGX-351 · 29-10-2017, 02:47 AM

I always assumed it was AU2/3 then followed by XF.

GASWAGON · 01-11-2017, 08:58 AM

I always loved the Falcon straight 6's cos you can service them very easily, change plugs very easily, EF onwards has serpentine belt that last ages and coil pack ignition for EF,AU and now the Barra's.

4.0 litres of heaven for me.

Syndrome · 01-11-2017, 10:00 AM

My BF MKII ESP was the most reliable Falcon. The FG XR6 would come second.

roKWiz · 02-11-2017, 11:52 AM

Walked up the main street of Euroa (Vic) this morning and there's 3 XF farmers utes (optional dog in each) parked in various locations + my XF van must say something.
Either that or we are all very poor with no taste.

**janddbone** · 02-11-2017, 02:19 PM

Plenty of spots in rural Vic with XD - XF stuff still floating about. I am one of them!

XP6 · 03-11-2017, 03:57 PM

The first shape falcon will always be the most reliable due to being so basically simple... lets see how your AU's are at 50yrs+ old.

Dr Terry · 03-11-2017, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XP6

The first shape falcon will always be the most reliable due to being so basically simple... lets see how your AU's are at 50yrs+ old.

IMHO not quite so.

The sweet spot for simplicity versus reliability would be XY-XA.

Assuming it is a basic 6-cyl 3-sp manual, but with disc brakes, all the old suspension & other engineering woes were sorted out by then. The earlier Fords (XK-XP) needed work to make them reliable.

The 250 ci log motor was near bullet-proof, with a Stromberg carby & a Bosch points dissy. By XB, anti-pollution gear was creeping in. The diff & gearbox were much stronger than the earlies, as was most of the body hardware. Also these models were so simple any back-yarder could fix them with a 12-piece toolkit.

I worked in the taxi game in the early 70s & these cars could commonly achieve 1,000,000 miles (not kms) without spending big $$$. HK/T/G/Q Holden were similar.

Later cars with their EFI, electronics, a/cond & modern suspension & steering systems will drive much better, but they are far more complicated, with so much more to go wrong.

Dr Terry

**GO FURTHER** · 03-11-2017, 04:54 PM

I've owned an XB, XD, XE, AUII wagon, EF on gas, BA XR6, FG XT, and my current FG MKII.

I'd have to say, they have all been totally reliable.

I think preventative maintenance, regular servicing and driving them sensibly are the biggest factors to reliability with any car though unless you are unlucky and happen to get a lemon.

If I had to say which ones of the above models I felt were the best overall, then it would have to be the AU wagon followed by my current FG.

383hq · 03-11-2017, 05:41 PM

Never had any major issues with any of the fords I've owned
XA, EB, EL, AU, BA2, BF2, FG2

Except for the time I thought the engine bay was a bit dirty on the EL fairmont ghia and hit it with the pressure washer. Didn't run right for a few hours. Did replace the head gasket and coil packs in it at 180,000kms as a precautionary measure.

Oh, and had to weld up the flex plate on the XA for it's 26th birthday. It had a rattle.

New cars might be more complicated, but I remember dad wouldn't travel more then 20 miles without water, tools, fan belt, radiator hose. Engineering wise they can now design parts pretty accurately for a design life (say 200,000 km)
Just ask any Toyota owner with a cam timing belt.....

I personally think the AU series was the best, just 15 years ahead of its time in styling. Ford starting pulling cost in a big way from the B series on (yes they looked better, yes I didn't whack my head on the A pillar).

Also very happy with my FG2 , biggest issue has been 2 blown RHS rear brake light globes. Great value for money at the moment for highway haulers

XP6 · 04-11-2017, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Terry

IMHO not quite so.

The sweet spot for simplicity versus reliability would be XY-XA.

Assuming it is a basic 6-cyl 3-sp manual, but with disc brakes, all the old suspension & other engineering woes were sorted out by then. The earlier Fords (XK-XP) needed work to make them reliable.

The 250 ci log motor was near bullet-proof, with a Stromberg carby & a Bosch points dissy. By XB, anti-pollution gear was creeping in. The diff & gearbox were much stronger than the earlies, as was most of the body hardware. Also these models were so simple any back-yarder could fix them with a 12-piece toolkit.

I worked in the taxi game in the early 70s & these cars could commonly achieve 1,000,000 miles (not kms) without spending big $$$. HK/T/G/Q Holden were similar.

Later cars with their EFI, electronics, a/cond & modern suspension & steering systems will drive much better, but they are far more complicated, with so much more to go wrong.

Dr Terry

Yes you are correct to a point but we are not talking about the performance quality here. There's still plenty of unrestored XLKMP's about that are still as good(relative terms...)as they were back in the early sixtys.
Lets face it all Aussie falc's are considered reliable... except them bloody BA's

Mercury Bullet · 04-11-2017, 06:49 PM

I've had lots of falcons over the years and whilst I said au was the most reliable i never owned one myself.

Believe it or not but the most reliable i owned was an EA Fairmont ghia.
Before the head gasket blew I had the head removed and a silicon bead put in.
Never had an issue after that preventative maint.

I don't normally keep cars for long but that one I probably did 150,000.

I have a feeling the airbags were on their last legs though. Compressor was never a problem.

stock1991 · 04-11-2017, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

I've had lots of falcons over the years and whilst I said au was the most reliable i never owned one myself.

Believe it or not but the most reliable i owned was an EA Fairmont ghia.
Before the head gasket blew I had the head removed and a silicon bead put in.
Never had an issue after that preventative maint.

I don't normally keep cars for long but that one I probably did 150,000.

I have a feeling the airbags were on their last legs though. Compressor was never a problem.

not sure how true it is but I was told the ghias, the fairlanes and LTD'S were only built on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. some kind of quality control measure